System and method for adding an advertisement to a personal communication

ABSTRACT

A system and method is provided for adding at least one advertisement to a personal communication and providing additional communication data to a recipient that interacts with the advertisement. A sender network device communicates with an advertising application operating on a Web site to generate a personal communication containing at least one advertisement, where the at least one advertisement is selected from a palette of advertisements. In one embodiment of the present invention, the sender has control over advertisements that are displayed together with the personal communication by allowing the sender to delete (or remove) an advertisement from either the at least one advertisement or the palette of advertisements. If a displayed advertisement is interactive, and the advertisement is interacted with, the advertising application will provide the recipient with additional communication data in a format that can be understood by the recipient network device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/755,541, filed Jan. 5, 2001, which claims priority pursuantto 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/174,781,filed Jan. 6, 2000, which application is specifically incorporatedherein, in its entirety, by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This patent document contains material subject to copyright protection.The copyright owner, Richard A. Rothschild, has no objection to thereproduction of this patent document or any related materials, as theyappear in the files of the Patent and Trademark Office of the UnitedStates or any other country, but otherwise reserves all rightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to advertising over a wide area networksuch as the Internet, and more particularly, to a system and method thatallows an Internet user to place an advertisement within a personalcommunication, and provides a recipient of the personal communicationrequesting additional information with such information regardless ofthe network device the recipient is using.

2. Description of Related Art

The number of Internet users has been growing at an ever increasing rateover the past seven years. By the end of 2000 there will be more than400 million individuals worldwide that have access to the Internet,where 153 million of those individuals reside in the United States.Businesses are aware of this growing audience and have responded byspending $3.1 billion for Internet advertising in 1999. Althoughadvertising through the Internet has indirect benefits, like reinforcingbrand name recognition, the direct benefits of Internet advertising canbe seen through e-commerce transactions, which generated over $132billion worldwide in 2000.

The rapid increase in the number of individuals who have Internet accesshas lead to, and may in part be attributed to, an increase in e-mailusage. With respect to the 153 million U.S. individuals that have accessto the Internet, 97 million of them are over the age of 14 and haveactive e-mail accounts. Studies have shown that 90% of those e-mailusers connect to the Internet primarily to view and send e-mail.Additionally, 40% of those individuals stated that checking their e-mailwas one of the first things they do in the morning, as well as one ofthe last things they do before going to bed. As these numbers suggest,the e-mail users, which worldwide are responsible for generating 10billion e-mail messages daily, are spending a great deal of timeinteracting with a medium that is relatively untapped by the advertisingindustry. In an effort to penetrate this medium, businesses spent over$1.1 billion on e-mail marketing in 2000. The preliminary success ofsuch marketing has led firms like eMarketer™ to predict that fundsallocated to e-mail marketing will rise to $4.5 billion by 2003.

With the amount of funds being spent on e-mail marketing, it isimperative that those advertising campaigns produce profitable results.This requires e-mail advertising service providers to offer focused,result-driven, advertising methods. A basic premise to begin with is thenotion that e-mail advertisements must produce a positive association inthe consumers' mind with the advertised product. A negative association,which can be produced by advertising through unsolicited e-mail, notonly does not benefit the organization, but may actually harm it in thelong run. For example, if a business buys a list of e-mail addressesfrom an industry that has a similar customer base, the response they getfrom the recipient may have quite the opposite effect of that intended.Unsolicited e-mail messages, also referred to as spam or junk e-mail,may annoy the consumer so much that a negative connotation with theproduct is formed in the consumer's mind, thus reducing sales inoff-line markets through poor brand name association.

One way to avoid the negative association created through unsolicitede-mail advertisements is to advertise through solicited e-mails. That isattach advertisements to standard e-mail messages (or other solicitedcommunications) that are being sent between individuals that have apersonal or professional relationship. Advertising in this manner ismuch less intrusive and appears to the recipient as a platform for themessage, instead of the message itself. There are currently twodifferent business plans that utilize solicited e-mail for advertising.These two business methods are the “desired account” method (referred toas the Hotmail™ method) and the “paid advertisement” method (referred toas the NightMail™ method).

Hotmail™ provides an Internet user with an e-mail address in exchangefor placing a Hotmail™ (or affiliate) interactive link within everye-mail message that originates from the account. This allows Hotmail™ toadvertise itself to recipients of e-mail messages in exchange forproviding and maintaining an e-mail address. The reason this is referredto as the “desired account” method is due to the popularity of theHotmail™ name. Internet users prefer to have a Hotmail™ account overother similar accounts (e.g., Mail.com), which are also free, because ofthe name recognition associated with it.

There are three problems with advertisers using the “desired account”method. First, there is a great deal of setup costs associated with aWeb site capable of receiving, storing, and transmitting high quantitiesof data, as required by an e-mail service provider. Second, theadvertiser would need brand name recognition capable of enticingInternet users to become e-mail subscribers, which may prove to be quitehard if the advertiser is not as well known (and attractively viewed) asHotmail™. Third, an Internet user that already has an e-mail accountwould be less inclined to sign up for a second one, which would forcethe Internet user to monitor and maintain multiple e-mail account.

NightMail™ provides an Internet user with an e-mail address in exchangefor placing interactive advertisement links within every e-mail messagethat originates from the account. Additionally, the Internet user isrewarded through a point system if the advertisement is deemedsuccessful. The points can later be redeemed through the Web site formerchandise or money. This is referred to as the “paid advertisement”method because Internet users are paid (in points) for using theNightMail™ service. By paying Internet users to use such a service,businesses that don't have the brand name recognition can pay to havetheir advertisements included in solicited e-mails.

There are four problems with advertisers using the “paid advertisement”method. First, as discussed above, Internet users that already have ane-mail account would be less inclined to sign up for a second one, whichwould force the Internet user to monitor and maintain multiple e-mailaccounts. Second, in the absence of any subscription questionnaire(which would only provide moderate information anyway), the advertiserwould have no idea what demographic is going to be exposed to theadvertisement or whether the recipient of the e-mail will be a consumerthat would be inclined to purchase the advertising product. For example,advertisements for dating services could be sent to married couples,which provides the advertiser with little benefit. This leads to thethird problem, given that the advertisements are placed at random, therecipient may be offended by the advertisement, thus creating a negativeassociation with the product. Not only does this reflect poorly on theadvertiser, but it also reflects poorly on the sender of the e-mail,possibly discouraging future use of such a service. For example,advertisements for McDonalds could be viewed as offensive if they aresent to a Hindu. Fourth, when the advertisers realize the problemsassociated with such a system, they will only pay the Internet users foradvertisements that prove to be successful (e.g., the recipientinteracts with the advertisement or makes a purchase). However, this isextremely unfair to the Internet user when you consider that 40% ofpeople who purchase a product after they view an online advertisement doso between eight and thirty days after seeing the advertisement.

From the above discussion, it is clear that an e-mail advertisementservice provider should appeal to the e-mail recipient, the e-mailsender, and the advertiser in order to be effective in the marketplace.In order to appeal to the e-mail recipients, the e-mail containing theadvertisement should be solicited. Thus, it would be preferable if thee-mail message came from someone the recipient knew, either personallyor professionally, and the content of the e-mail message was notprimarily related to the advertisement. Additionally the advertisementwould have to be non-offensive to the recipient.

In order for an e-mail advertisement service provider to appeal to asender of e-mail, the sender should be adequately compensated for histrouble. This would include compensating the sender for the merepresence of an advertisement in a sent communication (whether thatcommunication be e-mail, chat-room dialog, instant messaging, etc.).This compensation would obviously be increased if the advertisement wasinteracted with and/or purchases were made. Additionally, the e-mailservice should work in conjunction with a sender's existing e-mailaddress, thus enabling the sender to only have to monitor and maintainone e-mail account. Finally, the sender should be able to choose whichadvertisements (or advertising entities) are to be included in hise-mail. For example, this would allow an individual with an interest insports to attach a Nike™ advertisement to his e-mail, thus portrayingthe individual as an athletically minded individual, much like one doeswhen one wears a t-shirt containing the Nike™ logo.

Finally, an e-mail advertisement service provider would appeal to anadvertiser if the end product produced advertisements that were placedbefore interested consumers. By giving the sender the ability to choosewhich advertisements should be incorporated within his e-mails, theadvertising message gets displayed before the sender, who is most likelya consumer of the advertised product, and before the recipient, who, byassociation, is more likely than not to also share the same interests asthe sender. Additionally, the advertising service should be capable ofdistributing e-mails and advertisements to recipients operating onnon-traditional Internet devices (e.g., mobile phones). The serviceshould also be flexible enough to adapt to changes within the on-lineadvertising industry.

Thus, a need exists, and it would be desirable, for a flexible, deviceand data neutral system that compensates Internet users for sendingpersonal communications containing user selected advertisements, andproviding additional communication data to those recipients thatinteract with the selected advertisements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and method for adding anadvertisement to a personal communication and providing additionalcommunication data to a recipient that interacts with the advertisementregardless of the network device the recipient is utilizing (e.g.,personal computer, television set-top box, telephone, consumerappliance, PDA, WAP mobile phone, I-Mode mobile phone, 3G device, WED,WID, DAB device, etc.). In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, a sender network device, a recipient network device, and aWeb site are connected to, and can communicate through a communicationnetwork, such as, the Internet, local area network, wide area network,or digital audio broadcast (DAB). The sender network device communicateswith an advertising application operating on the Web site to send apersonal communication containing a sender-selected advertisement to therecipient network device. If the advertisement is interacted with, theadvertising application provides the recipient network device withadditional communication data.

To send a personal communication containing a sender-selectedadvertisement, the sender network device communicates with theadvertising application operating on the Web site. If it is the firsttime the sender is communicating with the Web site, the sender may beasked to register with the Web site, where registration data and anassociated identification number is stored in a Web site memory device.Thereafter the sender will have an opportunity to enter message data(e.g., recipient data, subject data, message content data, and fileattachment data) and select an advertisement that will be sent alongwith the message data to a designated recipient. The sender may choosean advertisement from a sender created palette of advertisements or froma list of available advertisements divided into searchable categories.When the sender indicates that the message is ready to be sent, theadvertising application is presented with message data (pertaining tothe personal communication), sender data (pertaining to the sender), andadvertisement data (pertaining to the sender-selected advertisement).The advertising application then assigns an identification number to themessage data, as previously done for the sender data (upon registration)and advertisement data (upon submission), and stores the data in the Website memory device. The advertising application then utilizes themessage data, sender data and advertisement data to format, and send, apersonal communication containing a sender-selected advertisement to thedesignated recipient.

Advertisements and additional communication data can be provided by thesender of the personal communication, third party advertisers, or theWeb site. If the sender-selected advertisement is provided by a thirdparty advertiser, then the sender of that advertisement is compensatedfor sending it to at least one recipient. Additional compensation may beawarded to the sender if the recipient interacts with the advertisementor goes on to purchase a good or service from the third partyadvertiser. The message, sender, and advertisement data allow theadvertising application to determine the compensation due to aparticular sender.

If the advertisement contained in the personal communication is static,it is displayed on the recipient network device. However, if theadvertisement is interactive, and the advertisement is interacted with,the advertising application will provide the recipient with additionalcommunication data in a format that can be understood by the recipientnetwork device. This is done by utilizing the Web site's platformindependent architecture, which is developed using a device and dataneutral software language, such as XML (Extensible Markup Language),along with an advertising application divided into separate output anddata processing stages.

When a recipient interacts with an interactive advertisement, therequest data (contained in the advertisement's embedded URL) calls tothe data processing layer. The data processing layer uses the requestdata (which may contain message data that is linked to sender data andadvertisement data) to retrieve data from the Web site memory device. Aportion of the retrieved data is then passed on to the output stage,where it is placed in a template that has been optimized for thetargeted recipient network device.

An advertiser network device may also be connected to the Internet, thusenabling advertisers to upload advertisements and additionalcommunication data to the Web site. Additionally, advertisers may beallowed to gather statistical data based upon a particular advertisementcampaign. A staff network device may also be connected to the Internet,thus enabling a staff member to maintain the Web site and derive systemintelligence.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the Web site willgenerate, and send a personal communication containing a sender-selectedadvertisement, where the personal communication is directed to asender-selected recipient. If the sender-selected advertisement isinteractive, and it is interacted with, the recipient network devicewill be provided with additional communication data. Additionally, adisplay client may be provided to the recipient network device, enablingthe recipient network device to display a first portion of theadditional communication data when it is received.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a mobile client will beprovided to a mobile sender device, enabling the mobile sender device tosend a personal communication containing a sender-selected advertisementto a recipient. The mobile client, which operates on the mobile senderdevice, works together with the advertising application to send personalcommunications over the Internet or over a wireless networkinfrastructure.

A more complete understanding of the system and method for adding anadvertisement to a personal communication will be afforded to thoseskilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantagesand objects thereof, by a consideration of the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiment. Reference will be made to theappended sheets of drawings which will first be described briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high level architectural drawing of a system that operatesin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention to send apersonal communication containing an advertisement to at least onerecipient over a network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the primary components of the systemillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an e-mail message containing asender-selected advertisement.

FIG. 4. is a diagram illustrating an exemplary Web page utilized togather data for providing a recipient with an e-mail containing asender-selected advertisement.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating how an advertising applicationgenerates and transmits an e-mail containing a sender-selectedadvertisement.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the primary components responsible forthe device and data neutral functionality of the system illustrated inFIG. 1, specifically the separation of data processing and data outputwithin an advertising application.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of providingadditional communication data to a recipient.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the various software levels operatingon a wireless internet device.

FIG. 9 is a high level architectural diagram illustrating a system thatoperates in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention touse an e-mail client operating on a mobile Internet device together withan application program operating on a Web site to provide a personalcommunication containing an advertisement to a recipient via theInternet.

FIG. 10 is a high level architectural diagram illustrating a system thatoperates in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention tosend a personal communication containing an advertisement to a recipientover a wireless network.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating how a mobile client operating onan mobile sender device is used together with an application programoperating on a Web site to provide a personal communication containingan advertisement to a recipient.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a system and method for adding anadvertisement to a personal communication and providing additionalcommunication data to a recipient that interacts with the advertisementregardless of the network device the recipient is utilizing. In thedetailed description that follows, like element numerals are used todescribe like elements illustrated in one or more figures. Various termsand acronyms are used throughout the detailed description, including thefollowing:

Application Program. Within the context of computer hardware andsoftware, an application program is a set of one or more computerprograms that performs a function when executed within a computerhardware device. If the set is comprised of plural programs, theprograms are coordinated to perform a function together; such programsmay individually perform other functions. Similarly, a program may becomprised of plural modules that perform certain functions individuallyand other functions when combined in various ways.

Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or private)networks that are linked together by a set of standard protocols (suchas TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed network. (While thisterm is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet,it is also intended to encompass variations which may be made in thefuture, including changes and additions to existing standard protocols.)

Web Site. A computer system that serves informational content over anetwork using the standard protocols of the World Wide Web. Typically, aWeb site corresponds to a particular Internet domain name, such as“Brandmailnetwork.com,” and includes the content associated with aparticular organization.

Web Server. A device for transmitting data over the Internet (which mayalso prevent the transmission of data) encompassing thehardware/software server components that serve information content overa network and the “back end” hardware/software components, including anynon-standard or specialized components, that interact with the servercomponent to perform services for Web site users.

The foregoing definitions are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent invention, but rather are intended to clarify terms that arewell understood by persons having ordinary skill in the art. It shouldbe appreciated that the defined terms may also have other meanings tosuch persons having ordinary skill in the art. These and other terms areused in the detailed description below.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention operate in accordancewith a plurality of network devices, such as, a sender network device, arecipient network device, and a Web site. The sender network device, therecipient network device, and the Web site are coupled together on acommunication network, such as, the Internet, local area network, widearea network, or digital audio broadcast (DAB). FIG. 1 depicts anadvertising system 10 that operates in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention. In this embodiment, the Web site 110, the sender networkdevice 120, the recipient network device 130, an advertiser networkdevice 140, and a staff network device 150 are connected to, and cancommunicate through, the Internet 102. It should be appreciated that thenetwork devices depicted in FIG. 1 (i.e., sender network device 120,recipient network device 120, advertiser network device 140, and staffnetwork device 150) are intended to be representative in nature and arenot to be viewed as limitations, either as to the number or type ofnetwork devices utilized in the present invention. Other networkdevices, including, but not limited to, personal computers, televisionset-top boxes, telephone, consumer appliances, personal digitalassistances (PDAs), wireless application protocol (WAP) mobile phones,I-Mode mobile phones, 3G devices, wireless entertainment devices (WEDs),wireless information devices (WIDs), digital audio broadcast (DAB)devices, and other physical and wireless connected network devices,regardless of their network protocol (e.g., Jini, Bluetooth), generallyknown to those skilled in the art are within the scope and spirit ofthis invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sender network device 120 includes a senderdisplay 122, a Web browser 124, and a sender memory device 126. Therecipient network device 130 includes a recipient display 132, acommunication application 134, and a recipient memory device 136.Finally, the Web site includes a Web server 112, an advertisingapplication 114, and a Web site memory device 116. The advertisingapplication 114, operating on the Web site 110, permits a sender tocreate, and send a personal communication containing a sender-selectedadvertisement to the communication application 134, operating on therecipient network device 130. For an e-mail message, the communicationapplication 134 may be an e-mail application (e.g., Microsoft Outlook™),whereas for chat-room messages, the communication application 134 may bea Web browser. The personal communication received by the communicationapplication 134 may be displayed on the recipient display 132 or storedin the recipient memory device 136. It should be appreciated that thememory and display devices depicted in FIG. 2 are intended to berepresentative in nature, and other embodiments are within the scope andspirit of this invention. The memory devices depicted in FIG. 2 (i.e.,sender memory device 126, recipient memory device 126, and Web sitememory device 116) can be long or short term data storage devices,including, but not limited to, RAM, cache memory, flash memory, magneticdisks, optical disks, removable disks, SCSI disks, IDE hard drives, tapedrives, smart cards, and all other types of data storage devices (andcombinations thereof, such as RAID devices) generally known to thoseskilled in the art. The display devices depicted in FIG. 2 (i.e., senderdisplay 122 and recipient display 132) can be a video monitor,television, LCD/plasma flat screen, or any other display devicesgenerally known to those skilled in the art.

The sender network device 120 is used to send a personal communication,together with a sender-selected advertisement, to the recipient networkdevice 130 via the Web site 110. It should be appreciated that apersonal communication can include, but is not limited to, an e-mailmessage, text message, short message service (SMS) message, chat-roommessage, instant messaging message, video message, voice message, andany other personalized network communications generally known to thoseskilled in the art. Additionally, the personal communication can containmessage data including, but not limited to, text data, graphic data,audio data, video data, and all other types of electronicallytransmitted data generally known to those skilled in the art. Thesender-selected advertisement that is contained within the personalcommunication can either be static or interactive. A staticadvertisement is an icon, graphic, text message, or voice message thatis intended to provided the recipient with a simple message, wherein thesimple message can be obtained by viewing and/or hearing the staticadvertisement. An interactive advertisement is an icon, graphic, text,or voice message that can be interacted with to provide the recipientwith additional communication data, wherein the additional communicationdata is provided to the recipient when the recipient interacts with theadvertisement. It should be appreciated that the types of additionalcommunication data include, but are not limited to, text data, graphicdata, voice data, video data, and all other types of electronicallytransmitted data generally known to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 3 shows an e-mail message 302 directed to a recipient (i.e.,dan@website.com). The e-mail message contains a personal message 304 anda sender-selected advertisement 306. If the sender-selectedadvertisement 306 is a static advertisement, then the recipient willmerely have an opportunity to view the advertisement as provided in thee-mail. If the sender-selected advertisement 306 is an interactiveadvertisement, then the recipient will also have an opportunity tointeract with the advertisement to receive additional communicationdata. It should further be appreciated that the source of theadvertisement (either static or interactive), as well as any additionalcommunication data, can be provided by the sender of the personalcommunication, a third party advertiser, the Web site, or any otherparty that has access to the Internet. For example, the sender, in anattempt to share some humor, may send a personal communication to arecipient containing an interactive, sender-provided, advertisement thatadvertises an animated cartoon. If the recipient interacts with theinteractive advertisement, the recipient will be provided withadditional communication data (e.g., graphic, text, audio, video)pertaining to the animated cartoon. Alternatively, the sender, foreither esthetic or compensatory reasons, may send a personalcommunication to a recipient containing an interactive, third partyadvertiser-provided, advertisement that advertises Nike™. If therecipient interacts with the interactive advertisement, the recipientwill be provided with additional communication data (e.g., graphic,text, audio, video) pertaining to Nike™. It should be appreciated thatthese examples are not intended to limit the subject matter of theadditional communication data that can be provided to the recipientnetwork device. The additional communication data can containadvertisement data, entertainment data, educational data, or any othertype of data made available to the Web site.

To send a personal communication containing an advertisement to arecipient, the sender should interface to the Web site 110 via thesender network device 120. Specifically the Web browser 124, operatingon the sender network device 120, interfaces over the Internet 102 withthe Web server 112, which is operating on the Web site 110. If thesender has not used the Web site 110 before, data may be displayed onthe sender display 122 prompting him to register. Registration mayinclude providing data, such as name, e-mail address, mailing address,and profile information. After registration is complete, a user name andpassword should be e-mailed to the e-mail address provided by thesender. The sender then uses the user name and password to access acommunication page on the Web site 110.

If the sender indicates a desire to send an e-mail to a recipient, hemay be provided with an e-mail communication page 402, as shown in FIG.4. It should be appreciated that other communication pages specificallydesigned for sending text messages, SMS messages, chat-room messages,instant messaging messages, video messages, voice messages, and otherpersonal communications are within the sprit and scope of thisinvention. The e-mail communication page 402 provides a recipient space408 where the sender can designate at least one recipient that willreceive the e-mail. The sender is further provided a subject space 406and a message space 410, where the subject matter and the contents ofthe e-mail can be added. The e-mail communication page 402 may alsoprovide the sender with an attach file button 412, which allows thesender to attach separate files to the e-mail that are to be routed tothe designated recipient(s). The e-mail communication page 402 furtherprovides a pull down menu 404 for selecting an advertisement that is tobe included within the e-mail. The pull down menu 404 gives the senderthe ability to choose an advertisement from a sender created palette ofadvertisements.

Each sender is allowed to generate an individual palette ofadvertisements stored in the Web site memory device 116 (see FIG. 2).The palette contains advertisements that the sender has previouslyselected. The sender may have the option of adding additionaladvertisements to the palette and removing advertisements from thepalette. Additionally, the advertising application, the third partyadvertisers, or the Web site staff may also have the ability to removeadvertisements from the sender's palette (e.g., upon the expiration ofan advertisement). To aid in the adding of advertisements to thesender's palette, the sender will be able to choose from availableadvertisements that are stored in the Web site memory device 116 (seeFIG. 2). The available advertisements are sorted by category, makingthem easier for the sender to locate. The categories may include, butare not limited to, advertising source, product category, compensationvalue, popularity, product name, or date added. Once the sender has apalette of advertisements, those particular advertisements will bedisplayed to the sender through the pull down menu 404. The sender hasthe option, through the pull down menu 404, to select an advertisementto accompany the e-mail, select that no advertisement is to accompanythe e-mail, or select that an advertisement should be randomly selected,either from the sender's palette or from the available advertisements,to accompany the e-mail.

At this point, the sender can depress the send message button 414 tosend the e-mail (which includes the attachment(s) and the selectedadvertisement) to the designated recipient(s). The reply-to datacontained in the e-mail, which is the e-mail address that is used if therecipient depressing the “reply-to” button on their e-mail client (e.g.,Microsoft Outlook™), is replaced with the e-mail address provided by thesender upon registration. This allows replies (using the “reply-to”button) to e-mails to be routed directly to the sender's provided e-mailaddress. The e-mail will appear to the recipient as if it came from ane-mail advertisement service provider's domain (e.g.,user-name@web-site.com). If the recipient attempts to route an e-mailreply to the listed address, the advertising application 114 (see FIG.2) will re-route the e-mail to the sender's provided e-mail address.

Referring back to FIG. 2, data pertaining to the sender's e-mail will bestored in the Web site memory device 116 at approximately the time thee-mail is routed to the designated recipient(s). This data may include,but is not limited to, message data (pertaining to the personalcommunication), sender data (pertaining to the sender), advertisementdata (pertaining to the sender-selected advertisement), andidentification numbers associated with each group of data. The senderdata and the advertisement data (or their identification numbers) willallow the advertising application 114 to keep track of theadvertisements that are being sent, and the senders that are sendingthose advertisements. The message data, which is linked to the senderdata and the advertisement data, allows the advertising application 114to provide additional communication data to a recipient that interactswith an interactive advertisement (discussed below).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the sender may submit apopulated communication page as additional communication data (asopposed to personal communication data). In this instance theadvertising application 114 generates a personal communication directedto a sender-provided recipient. The personal communication is sentcontaining a sender-selected advertisement that is adapted to provide aninteracting recipient with additional communication data (i.e., thepopulated communication page). The sender-provided recipient and thesender-selected advertisement may be provided by the sender or extractedby the advertising application 114 from the sender-submitted populatedcommunication page. For example, if a sender submitted a populatede-mail communication page as additional communication data, then theadvertising application 114 would generate a personal communicationdirected to the recipient contained within the populated e-mailcommunication page. The advertising application 114 would then create aninteractive advertisement from data containing within the populatede-mail communication page (e.g., sender name, subject matter, content).The personal communication, containing the interactive advertisement,would be routed to the recipient network device 130. If the recipientinteracted with the interactive advertisement, the recipient would beprovided with the populated e-mail communication page submitted by thesender.

As previously discussed, the advertisement, as well as the additionalcommunication data may be provided by a variety of sources (e.g., senderof the personal communication, third party advertiser, or Web site). Ifa sender-selected advertisement is provided by a third party advertiser,then the sender of that advertisement is compensated for sending it toat least one recipient. The sender, in this particular case, will becompensated for the mere sending of the advertisement. Additionalcompensation may be awarded to the sender if the recipient who receivesthe advertisement interacts with it. The sender may also receiveadditional compensation if the recipient purchases a good or servicefrom the advertiser after interacting with the interactiveadvertisement. It should be appreciated that compensation including, butnot limited to, money, products, services, points that are redeemablefor goods or services, and other forms of compensation generally knownto those skilled in the art are within the scope and spirit of thisinvention.

FIG. 5 outlines, beginning at step 502, the process the advertisingapplication goes through to provide the recipient network device with ane-mail containing an advertisement. At step 504, the advertisingapplication provides a Web page containing a “send e-mail” option to thesender network device. The advertising application, at step 506,receives a response from the sender network device indicating that ane-mail should be sent. At step 508, the advertising application providesthe sender network device with an e-mail communication page (see FIG.4), enabling the sender to enter at least one designated recipient, thesubject matter, the content, any attachments, and a selectedadvertisement that should accompany the completed e-mail. The end resultis a compilation of data that includes sender data, advertisement data,and message data. The advertising application, at step 510, receives aresponse from the sender network device indicating that a compilation ofdata is being submitted. At step 512, the advertising applicationreceives the compilation of data, which includes message data, senderdata, and advertisement data, and assigns an identification number tothe message data. The compiled data is then stored in the Web sitememory device. The identification number, as assigned to the messagedata, and as previously assigned to the sender data (upon registrationof the sender) and the advertisement data (upon submission of theadvertisement), enables the advertising application to easily search forindividual entries and link individual entries with other individualentries. The advertising application then determines the compensationthat is due the sender, at step 514, based upon the selectedadvertisement and the number of recipients that will receive theselected advertisement. At step 516 the message data (which includes theselected advertisement) is formatted into a standard e-mail format. Theformatted e-mail's reply-to address is changed, at step 518, to reflectthe senders e-mail address that was provided by the sender uponregistration. At step 520, the formatted e-mail is sent to thedesignated recipient(s).

Referring back to FIG. 2, assuming the designated recipient is therecipient network device 130, the formatted e-mail is routed from theWeb site 110 to the recipient e-mail server 210, where the e-mail isre-formatted so that it can be read by the recipient network device 130.For example, if the recipient network device is a mobile phone, thee-mail service provider for that mobile phone is set up to re-formatincoming e-mails so they are properly displayed on the mobile phone'sdisplay. In another embodiment of this invention, the Web site 110further includes a system and method for receiving and transmittinge-mails to network devices, regardless of the type of network devicethat is being used. The e-mail server will utilize a POP3, IMAP, orother standard e-mail protocol to receive and store e-mails.Additionally, the same platform independent architecture used intransmitting additional communication data to network devices (asdiscussed below) will be used in connection with the e-mail server, thusallowing e-mails to be transmitted to a variety of network devices,regardless of the different e-mail format requirements. Regardless ofwhich e-mail server is used, the re-formatted e-mail (which contains thesender-selected advertisement) is forwarded on to the communicationapplication 134 operating on the recipient network device 130.

If the advertisement contained in the e-mail is static, it can bedisplayed or performed on the recipient display 132 (which may requirespeakers for performance of audio advertisements). However, if theadvertisement is interactive, and the advertisement is interacted with,additional communication data will be provided to the recipient networkdevice 130. The location of the additional communication data (or apointer to the data) is contained in a URL embedded within theinteractive advertisement. A URL (or Uniform Resource Locator) containsa unique address which fully specifies the location of data on theInternet. Unlike most advertisement URLs which provide data directlyfrom the advertiser's Web site, the URL embedded within thesender-selected advertisement provides the recipient network device 130with data from the Web site 110, and more particularly from the Web sitememory device 116. This data stored on the Web site memory device 116may itself be the additional communication data that is to be providedto the recipient network device 130 or it may contain the address ofsuch data. Regardless, the additional communication data will beprovided to the recipient network device 130 by the advertisingapplication 114 operating on the Web site 110. Additionally, it will beprovided to the recipient in a format that can be understood by therecipient network device.

This is done by utilizing the Web site's 110 platform independentarchitecture. The platform independent architecture (a portion of theadvertising application) is developed using a software language that isdevice and data neutral, such as XML (Extensible Markup Language). XMLis device and data neutral because it is not a single, predefined markuplanguage. Instead it is a metalanguage, which is a language fordescribing other languages, allowing customized markup languages to bedefined for different classes of documents. It should be appreciatedthat other device and data neutral languages generally known to thoseskilled in the art are within the spirit and scope of this invention.

This device/data neutral language (e.g., XML) is used together with theadvertising application 114, which is constructed using a Model ViewController design pattern. In other words. The output stages of theadvertising application are separate from the data processing layer,which enables all data processing to be device independent and can beused regardless of the recipient network device 130 requesting data.Although the advertising application is described as being constructedusing the Java language, it should be appreciated that other modernprogram languages generally known to those skilled in the art are withinthe scope and spirit of this invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the advertising application 114 further contains twosub-applications, referred to as a control servlet 602 and a JSP (JavaServer Page) 604. It should be noted that the phrase “control servlet”is used here in its generic sense, actually referring to one of manyspecific servlets operating on the advertising application 114.Additionally, the JSP sub-application 604, as used here, is actuallyreferring to one of a plurality JSPs, where each JSP is responsible forperforming a specific function for a specific type of network device.When a recipient interacts with an interactive advertisement, therequest data (contained in the URL) refers to the control servlet 602.The control servlet 602 uses the request data to retrieve data from theWeb site memory device 116, and provide an output portion of that datato the JSP 604. The output data is then placed within the JSP 604template that has been optimized for the targeted, recipient networkdevice 130.

The flow diagram in FIG. 7 outlines what happens when a recipientinteracts with an interactive advertisement 702. When an interactiveadvertisement is interacted with, as in step 704, request data(contained in the URL) is directed to the control servlet. At step 706,the control servlet calls for additional data, based upon identificationnumbers (e.g., memory ID, sender ID, advertisement ID) contained in therequest data, from a database software layer, which has access to theWeb site memory device. At step 708, the database software layerprovides the additional data to the control servlet in at least onepopulated Java Bean. The control servlet, at step 710, uses the outputdata contained in the Java Bean to produce a Page Bean. At step 712, thecontrol servlet determines the type of recipient network device thatmade the request. This information is embedded within the HTTP protocol(HyperText Transport Protocol), which is the standard client-serverprotocol used on the World Wide Web, and thus used to send the URLrequest data from the recipient network device to the control servlet.The control servlet then directs the Page Bean, data identifying thetype of recipient network device, and control to the JSP at step 714. Atstep 716, the data contained within the Page Bean is placed into the JSPtemplate optimized for the recipient network device. The populated JSPtemplate (i.e., template containing additional communication data) isthen sent to the recipient network device at step 718. This platformindependent architecture not only allows additional communication datato be transmitted to an interacting recipient, it allows data to beprovided to a variety of network devices, regardless of the request. Theoutput from the Web site 110 is capable of providing data to a varietyof sender network devices and recipient network devices, regardless ofwhether that data is additional communication data, Web page data, ore-mail data.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the advertiser network device 140 is connectedto, and can communicate through the Internet 102. This enables anadvertiser to communicate with the Web site 110. To do this, theadvertiser is given a user account, which includes a user name andpassword, which allows the advertiser to log on to the Web site 110.Once the advertiser is logged on, the advertiser can use the advertisernetwork device 140 to upload an advertisement to the Web site 110. To dothis, the advertising application 114 provides the advertiser networkdevice 140 with a list of category headings, requesting that theadvertiser register the advertisement under at least one of theseheadings. Once a heading is selected, the advertiser can provide theadvertisement to the advertising application 114. If the advertisementis a textual message, the advertising application 114 allows theadvertiser the option of typing in the textual information that makes upthe advertisement. Alternatively, the advertiser can upload theadvertisement data (e.g., text, icon, graphic, audio). If the advertiserselects to upload data, that data should be provided in an acceptableformat. For example, icon or graphic data should be provided in JPEG,GIF, or any other generally recognizable graphical format. Audio datashould be provided in WAV, MP3, or any other generally recognizableaudio format.

The advertiser should at this time specify whether the advertisement isstatic or interactive. If it is interactive, the additionalcommunication data provided upon interaction, or the location of suchdata, should be provided so that the additional communication data canbe provided to any recipient interacting with the interactiveadvertisement. The advertiser should then provide information regardingthe compensation that is to be paid to senders who include theadvertisement within their personal communication. This information mayinclude, but is not limited to, a date and time when the advertisementshould be made available, an expiration date, a maximum number ofavailable transmissions, the compensation that is to be paid for eachtransmission, the compensation that is to be paid each time a recipientinteracts with the advertisement, and the compensation that is to bepaid each time a recipient purchases a good or service afterinteraction.

Additionally, once the advertiser is logged on to the Web site 110, theadvertiser can use the advertiser network device 140 to gatherstatistical data from the Web site memory device 116. This statisticaldata may include, but is not limited to, the number of times anadvertisement has been sent, the number of times an advertisement wasinteracted with, the number (and currency amount) of purchases madeafter an advertisement was interacted with, the profile of senders whoare sending an advertisement, and the compensation that is due for anadvertisement's transmission, interaction, or purchases made thereafter.

As well, the staff network device 150 is also connected to, andcommunicating through the Internet 102. This enables a Web site staffmember to communicate with the Web site 110. To do this, the staffmember is given a user account, which includes a user name and password,which allows the staff member to log on to the Web site 110. Once thestaff member is logged on, the staff member can access Web pages andacquire information in order to maintain the Web site and derive systemintelligence. The Web site maintenance includes, but is not limited to,creating, updating, and removing advertiser and sender accounts,updating sender profiles, administering advertisement campaigns,suspending different service areas, and enabling different serviceareas. The reporting of system intelligence includes, but is not limitedto, usage statistics (e.g., CPU load, number of e-mails sent, number ofusers), status of advertising campaigns, and revenue streams.

In an effort to prevent fraud, the advertising application is adapted torun a variety of antifraud programs. Such programs may include, but arenot limited to, e-mailing a user name and password to a sender'sdesignated e-mail account, allowing only one account to be linked to asingle mailing address, and denying compensation to a sender if thesender attempts to send an advertisement more than a pre-determinednumber of times, send more than a pre-determined number ofadvertisements within a pre-determined amount of time, send anadvertisement to a single recipient more than a pre-determined number oftimes, or send more than a pre-determined number of advertisements to asingle recipient within a pre-determined amount of time. It should beappreciated that other fraud and spamming prevention programs generallyknown to those in the art are within the scope and spirit of thisinvention.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a mobile client isprovided to a mobile sender device, enabling the mobile sender device tosend a personal communication containing a sender-selected advertisementto a recipient. Traditional mobile (wireless) devices, due to theirsmall screen size, small memory capacity, and slow data transmissionrate, typically require additional software to interface effectivelywith the Internet. It should be appreciated that the mobile client couldbe constructed using Java, SIM Toolkit, or any modern platform generallyknown to those skilled in the art. In an embodiment of the invention,the mobile client is constructed using the Java platform.

FIG. 8 shows a mobile sender device 810 containing a variety ofapplications constructed using the Personal Java Platform. It should beappreciated that mobile sender devices include, but are not limited to,wireless application protocol (WAP) mobile phones, I-Mode mobile phones,3G devices, wireless entertainment devices (WED), wireless informationdevices (WID), and other wireless network devices generally known tothose skilled in the art. The mobile sender device 810 contains afactory provided Host Operating System 812, as depicted in FIG. 8.Additionally, the mobile sender device 810 utilizes a variety ofsoftware components that operate on top of the Host Operating System812, in which the software components are either pre-installed ordownloaded by the user of the mobile sender device 810. These softwarecomponents include a Java Virtual Machine 818, a Mobile InformationDevice Environment 816, a Java Phone API 814 (Application ProgrammingInterfaces), and a Java Card API 812. The Java Virtual Machine 818 makesthe mobile sender device 810 platform independent, thus allowing asingle mobile client to be utilized on any mobile sender device. TheMobile Information Device Environment 816 provides a set of tools andAPIs that allow applications and user interfaces to interact with themobile sender device 810. The Java Phone API 814 is utilized to provideaccess to the generic functions of the mobile sender device 810, whereasthe Java Card API 812 is utilized to provide access to the Java VirtualMachine 818 and the capability to store transactions and information.

FIG. 9 depicts an e-mail client advertising system 30 that operates inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, themobile client is an e-mail client that works together with theadvertising application 114 (see FIG. 2) to route an e-mail containingan advertisement to a recipient network device 130. The mobile senderdevice 810 is connected to, and communicates through, the Internet 102.This allows the mobile sender device 810 to communicate with the Website 110, and more specifically with the advertising application 114(see FIG. 2). The e-mail client allows the sender to provide the mobilesender device 810, containing the various software components depictedin FIG. 8, with message data and selected advertisement data. After themessage data and selected advertisement data is compiled, and the senderhas indicated that the compiled data should be sent, the compiled data(which may include message data, advertisement data, and sender data) istransmitted to the Web site 110. The advertising application 114 (seeFIG. 2) stores the compiled data in the Web site memory device 116 anddetermines the compensation that is due the sender. As previouslymentioned, if the recipient network device 130 interacts with aninteractive advertisement contained within the e-mail, the recipientnetwork device 130 will be provided with additional communication datapertaining to the request data contained in the URL that is embeddedwithin the interactive advertisement.

FIG. 10 depicts a datagram client advertising system 20 that operates inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, themobile client is a datagram client that enables a mobile sender devicecontaining the software component depicted in FIG. 8 to transmit apersonal communication containing an advertisement to a mobile recipientdevice via a wireless network infrastructure. The mobile sender device810 is connected to and can communicate through the Internet 102. Thisallows the mobile sender device to communicate with the Web site 110,through the Web server 112. Additionally, the mobile sender device 810can connect to and communicate through a wireless network infrastructure1012. This allows the mobile sender device to transmit a personalcommunication directly to a mobile recipient device 1020, without theentire communication first being routed through the Internet. It shouldbe appreciated that in this embodiment, the personal communicationsincludes communications sent using a short message service (SMS) or anyother wireless message sending format generally known to those skilledin the art.

The datagram client will allow the sender to provide the mobile senderdevice 810 with message data and selected advertisement data. After themessage data and selected advertisement data is compiled, and the senderhas indicated that the compiled data should be sent, the datagram clientwill instruct the mobile sender device 810 to route the personalcommunication, together with the selected advertisement, to the mobilerecipient device 1020 via the wireless network infrastructure 1012. Atapproximately the same time, the datagram client will instruct themobile sender device 810 to upload the message data, advertisement data,and sender data to the advertising application 114 operating on the Website 110. The advertising application 114 then stores the data in theWeb site memory device 116 and determines the compensation that is duethe sender. If the mobile recipient device 1020 interacts with aninteractive advertisement contained within the personal communication(e.g, SMS), the mobile recipient device 1020 will be provided withadditional communication data pertaining to the request data containedin the URL that is embedded within the interactive advertisement.

A flow diagram in FIG. 11, beginning at step 1102, outlines the processof routing an SMS or e-mail message containing an advertisement to arecipient device when a sending device utilizes a mobile client togenerate and send the personal communication. At step 1104, it should bedetermined whether the personal communication will be a SMS message thatwill be routed via a wireless network infrastructure, or an e-mailmessage that will be routed via the Internet.

If an SMS message is to be sent to a mobile recipient device, at step1128, the mobile sender device uploads the previously downloadeddatagram client. This prompts a control servlet, at step 1130, operatingon the Web site, to retrieve the sender's palette of advertisements fromthe Web site memory device and transmit the palette in an XML documentto the mobile sender device. At step 1132, the palette is received andstored in the mobile sender device's memory. The sender then selects, atstep 1134, the “send SMS” feature provided by the datagram client, whichallows an SMS message to be created. At step 1136, the sender selects anadvertisement from the palette that will accompany the SMS message. Thesender then provides the datagram client with message data, at step1138, which may include recipient data, subject data, and content data.A compilation of data is then transmitted to a control servlet operatingon the Web site, at step 1140, which includes message data, sender data,and advertisement data. Another control servlet assigns an ID number tothe message data (as previously assigned to the sender data and theadvertisement data), at step 1142, and stores all compiled data in theWeb site memory device. At step 1144, the advertising applicationdetermines the compensation that is due the sender based upon theselected advertisement and the number of recipients that received theadvertisement. The SMS message, along with the selected advertisement,is sent by the mobile sender device, at step 1146, to the designatedmobile recipient device over a wireless network infrastructure.

In an alternative embodiment, the mobile sender device routes the SMSmessage and the selected advertisement over a wireless networkinfrastructure, where the cost of the transmission is billed to anaccount provided by the Web site. The compensation (or part thereof)normally sent to the sender is kept by the Web site to subsidize thecost of the wireless transmission.

At step 1104, if the sender determines that an e-mail message is to besent via the Internet, the mobile sender device should upload, at step1106, the previously downloaded e-mail client. This prompts a controlservlet, at step 1108, operating on the Web site, to retrieve thesender's palette of advertisements from the Web site memory device andtransmit the palette in an XML document to the mobile sender device. Atstep 1110, the palette is received and stored in the mobile senderdevice's memory. The sender then selects, at step 1112, the “sende-mail” feature provided by the e-mail client, which allows an e-mailmessage to be created. At step 1114, the sender selects an advertisementfrom the palette that will accompany the e-mail message. The sender thenprovides the e-mail client with message data, at step 1116, which mayinclude recipient data, subject data, and content data. A compilation ofdata is then transmitted to a control servlet operating on the Web site,at step 1118, which includes message data, sender data, andadvertisement data. Another control servlet assigns an ID number to themessage data (as previously assigned to the sender data andadvertisement data), at step 1120, and stores all compiled data in theWeb site memory device. At step 1122, the advertising applicationdetermines the compensation that is due the sender based upon theselected advertisement and the number of recipients that received theadvertisement. The e-mail message, along with the selectedadvertisement, is then formatted, at step 1124, into an e-mail format.At step 1126, the formatted e-mail message is sent by the advertisingapplication to the designated recipient network device over theInternet.

In another embodiment of the invention, the additional communicationdata is sent to the recipient network device 130 so that a first portionof the additional communication data can be displayed on the recipientdisplay 132 as soon as the first portion is received by the recipientnetwork device 130. A remaining portion of the additional communicationdata, which is received after the first portion, does not effect thedisplaying of the first portion on the recipient network device 130. Aswell, subsequent portions of the additional communication data, whichtogether make up the remaining portion, can be displayed on therecipient display 132 as soon as each portion is received by therecipient network device 130. If the recipient network device 130 doesnot support such a function, a display client can be provided by the Website 110 in a downloadable format. The display client would enable therecipient network device 130 to display a first portion of additionalcommunication data as it is received, which would be beneficial fordevices with small screens, small memory capabilities, or slow datatransmitting rates.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of a system and method foradding an advertisement to a personal communication, it should beapparent to those skilled in the art that certain advantages of thesystem have been achieved. It should also be appreciated that variousmodifications, adaptations, and alternative embodiments thereof may bemade within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The inventionis further defined by the following claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A Web host connected to a wide area network (WAN),comprising: a Web server adapted to facilitate the communication ofelectronic data between a plurality of network devices via said WAN,wherein said electronic data comprises at least text data configured tobe delivered via a web service; a memory device connected to said Webserver and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements; and anadvertising application operating on said Web host, wherein saidadvertising application provides the function of: providing at least aportion of said plurality of advertisements to one of said plurality ofnetwork devices, said plurality of advertisements including a firstadvertisement; receiving a remove command from said one of saidplurality of network devices, said command being used by saidadvertising application to remove at least said first advertisement fromsaid plurality of advertisements, thereby creating a palette ofadvertisements; receiving data on a content of said electronic data;automatically selecting, based on at least a portion of the data on thecontent of said electronic data, at least one advertisement from saidpalette of advertisements; and sending said at least one advertisementto a recipient of said electronic data via said WAN, allowing said atleast one advertisement to be displayed to said recipient along withsaid electronic data.
 22. The Web host of claim 21, wherein said removecommand is used to remove a category of advertisements from saidplurality of advertisements, wherein said category of advertisementsincludes at least said first advertisement.
 23. The Web host of claim21, wherein said advertising application further provides the functionof receiving an add command from said one of said plurality of networkdevices, said add command being used by said advertising application toadd at least one other advertisement to said palette of advertisements.24. The Web host of claim 21, wherein said remove command is used toremove advertisements from a particular source from said plurality ofadvertisements, wherein said first advertisement is from said particularsource.
 25. The Web host of claim 21, wherein said advertisingapplication further provides the functions of (i) determining a type ofreception device used by said recipient and (ii) formatting said atleast one advertisement to be displayed on said reception device. 26.The Web host of claim 21, wherein said advertising application furtherprovides the function of providing compensation for sending said atleast one advertisement to said recipient of said electronic data. 27.The Web host of claim 21, wherein said advertising application furtherprovides the function of providing compensation if said recipient ofsaid electronic data interacts with said at least one advertisement. 28.The Web host of claim 21, wherein said advertising application furtherprovides the function of providing statistical data on said at least oneadvertisement.
 29. The Web host of claim 28, wherein said statisticaldata includes at least one of (i) a number of times said at least oneadvertisement was displayed along with said electronic data, (ii) anumber of times that said at least one advertisement was interacted withafter it was displayed along with said electronic data, and (iii)compensation owed for displaying said at least one advertisement alongwith said electronic data.
 30. The Web host of claim 21, wherein said atleast one advertisement is displayed in a web application.
 31. The Webhost of claim 21, wherein said at least one advertisement is displayedin a mobile client.
 32. The Web host of claim 21, wherein said one ofsaid plurality of network devices is used by a provider of saidelectronic data.
 33. A computer-implemented method for communicatingelectronic data between a plurality of network devices via a wide areanetwork (WAN), wherein said electronic data comprises at least text dataconfigured to be provided via at least one web service, comprising thesteps of: providing at least data on a plurality of advertisements toone of said plurality of network devices, said plurality ofadvertisements including a first advertisement; receiving a removecommand from said one of said plurality of network devices, said commandbeing used to remove at least said first advertisement from saidplurality of advertisements, thereby creating a palette ofadvertisements; receiving data on a content of said electronic data;selecting by machine-readable instructions stored in memory at least oneadvertisement from said palette of advertisements based on at least aportion of the data on the content of said electronic data; and sendingsaid at least one advertisement to a recipient of said electronic datavia said at least one web service connected to said WAN, allowing saidat least one advertisement to be displayed to said recipient along withsaid electronic data.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein said removecommand is used to remove a category of advertisements from saidplurality of advertisements, wherein said category of advertisementsincludes at least said first advertisement.
 35. The method of claim 33,further comprising the step of receiving an add command from said one ofsaid plurality of network devices, said add command being used to add atleast one other advertisement to said palette of advertisements.
 34. Themethod of claim 33, wherein said data on said plurality ofadvertisements includes at least one of (i) categories of said pluralityof advertisements, (ii) sources of said plurality of advertisements, and(iii) product names associated with said plurality of advertisements.35. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of (i)determining a type of reception device used by said recipient and (ii)formatting said at least one advertisement to be displayed on saidreception device.
 36. The method of claim 33, further comprising thestep of providing compensation for sending said at least oneadvertisement to said recipient of said electronic data.
 39. The methodof claim 33, further comprising the step of providing compensation ifsaid recipient of said electronic data interacts with said at least oneadvertisement.
 40. The method of claim 33, further comprising the stepof providing statistical data on said at least one advertisement. 41.The method of claim 40, wherein said statistical data includes at leastone of a number of times said at least one advertisement was displayedalong with said electronic data, a number of times that said at leastone advertisement was interacted with after it was displayed along withsaid electronic data, and compensation owed for displaying said at leastone advertisement along with said electronic data.
 42. The method ofclaim 33, wherein said at least one advertisement is displayed via a webbrowser.
 43. The method of claim 33, wherein said at least oneadvertisement is displayed via a mobile client.
 44. The method of claim33, further comprising the step of automatically providing a removeoption to said one of said plurality of network devices.
 45. The methodof claim 44, wherein said step of receiving said remove command fromsaid one of said plurality of network devices further comprisesreceiving at least an interaction with said remove option from said oneof said plurality of network devices.
 46. The method claim 33, whereinsaid step of receiving a remove command from said one of said pluralityof network devices further comprises receiving said remove command froma sender of said electronic data.
 47. A Web host connected to a widearea network (WAN), comprising: a Web server adapted to facilitate thecommunication of an electronic communication between a plurality ofnetwork devices via said WAN; a memory device connected to said Webserver and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements; and anadvertising application operating on said Web host, wherein saidadvertising application provides the functions of: providing at least aportion of said advertisements to one of said plurality of networkdevices, said plurality of advertisements including a firstadvertisement; receiving a remove command from said one of saidplurality of network devices, said command being used by saidadvertising application to remove said first advertisement from saidplurality of advertisements, thereby creating a palette ofadvertisements; receiving communication data from said one of saidplurality of network devices; automatically extracting, based on atleast a portion of the content of said communication data, at least oneadvertisement from said palette of advertisements; inserting said atleast one advertisement and said communication data into said electroniccommunication, and providing said electronic communication to arecipient via said WAN.
 48. The Web host of claim 47, wherein saidadvertising application further provides the functions of (i)determining a type of reception device used by said recipient and (ii)formatting said at least one advertisement to be displayed on saidreception device.
 49. The Web host of claim 47, wherein said one of saidplurality of network devices is used by a provider of said electroniccommunication.
 50. A Web host connected to a wide area network (WAN),comprising: a Web server adapted to facilitate the communication ofelectronic data between a plurality of network devices via said WAN,wherein said electronic data comprises at least text data configured tobe displayed via a web application; a memory device connected to saidWeb server and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements; and anadvertising application operating on said Web host, wherein saidadvertising application provides the function of: providing at least aportion of said plurality of advertisements to a provider of saidelectronic data, said plurality of advertisements including a firstadvertisement; receiving a remove command from said provider of saidelectronic data, said command being used by said advertising applicationto remove at least said first advertisement from said plurality ofadvertisements, thereby creating a palette of advertisements; receivingdata on a content of said electronic data; automatically selecting,based on at least a portion of the data on the content of saidelectronic data, at least one advertisement from said palette ofadvertisements; and sending said at least one advertisement to arecipient of said electronic data via said WAN, allowing said at leastone advertisement to be displayed to said recipient along with saidelectronic data via said web application.
 51. The Web host of claim 50,wherein said remove command is used to remove a category ofadvertisements from said plurality of advertisements, wherein saidcategory of advertisements includes at least said first advertisement.52. The Web host of claim 50, wherein said advertising applicationfurther provides the function of receiving an add command from saidprovider of said electronic data, said add command being used by saidadvertising application to add at least one other advertisement to saidpalette of advertisements.
 50. The Web host of claim 47, wherein saidremove command is used to remove advertisements from a particular sourcefrom said plurality of advertisements, wherein said first advertisementis from said particular source.
 54. The Web host of claim 50, whereinsaid advertising application further provides the functions of (i)determining a type of reception device used by said recipient and (ii)formatting said at least one advertisement to be displayed on saidreception device.
 55. The Web host of claim 50, wherein said advertisingapplication further provides the function of compensating said providerof said electronic data for sending said at least one advertisement tosaid recipient of said electronic data.
 56. The Web host of claim 50,wherein said advertising application further provides the function ofcompensating said provider of said electronic data if said recipient ofsaid electronic data interacts with said at least one advertisement. 57.The Web host of claim 50, wherein said advertising application furtherprovides the function of providing statistical data on said at least oneadvertisement.
 58. The Web host of claim 57, wherein said statisticaldata includes at least one of (i) a number of times said at least oneadvertisement was displayed along with said electronic data, (ii) anumber of times that said at least one advertisement was interacted withafter it was displayed along with said electronic data, and (iii)compensation owed to said provider of said electronic data fordisplaying said at least one advertisement along with said electronicdata.
 59. The Web host of claim 50, wherein said web applicationcomprises a web browser.
 60. The Web host of claim 50, wherein said webapplication comprises a mobile web client.